el fin

   Im not good with sad and emotional stuff so I try not to get too attached to my dog, Momo. I talk from experience because I use to have another chihuahua just like Momo. Her name was Chiquis, which is short for chiquito which means small in spanish. Momo and Chiquis were completely different. Momo was quiet and liked to be alone and Chiquis was so lovable and always full of energy. Chiquis was much more younger then Momo. This probably explains why Chiquis is always energetic and Momo is so calm. They sort of had a mother and daughter relationship even though they weren't related in anyway. Momo never had offspring and she probably never will. Well getting back to the point of not getting so attached, Chiquis died like two or three years ago from a disease called Parvo. Parvo is an airborne dog disease that comes from grass. To avoid this disease, a dog must have its vaccination shots. Unfortunately, Chiquis didn't have them. The symptoms of this disease is diarrhea and vomiting. This disease results in fatal consequences if the dog doesn't receive immediate care from professionals.  She contacted this disease from my other dog Maya. Just to make things clear, I have a total of three dogs, all three of them being females, Momo, Chiquis, and Maya. Maya is the youngest yet biggest of the three. She is a blue nose pit bull. Maya is probably the most active out of all of my dogs.  Luckily when Maya came across this disease my parents were kind enough to take her to the vet and safe her life. Sadly once Maya had gotten better, Chiquis got the disease and my parents simply couldn't afford to take her to the vet since Mayas recent trip to the vet was extremely expensive. It really sucked losing Chiquis. Im the type of person that rarely or never cries but Chiquis death really hit me like a truck. This is one of the reasons why I don't want to get so attached to Momo knowing that the end is almost here for her. 

Chiquis

Maya The Great

   Momos health has been getting worse day by day. What has really been getting bad is her breathing.  She always gets these little breathing attacks when she gets to excited or she eats or drinks water too fast. Turns out that "One common health problem among many Chihuahuas is something commonly referred to as "reverse sneezing", which is basically characterized by them wheezing"("Chihuahua..."). "The sound that accompanies reverse sneezing is kind of a sudden, startling sound that makes many dog owners think their pet is either choking or having an asthma attack"("How..."). At first, my family and I thought she had asthma but then I decided to do some research to see if it was possible for dogs to get Asthma. At the time I thought it was asthma but its just a little something called reverse sneezing. "This behavior isn't only common in Chihuahuas, but most small dog breeds can exhibit it. However, there are a number of specific breeds that appear to be predisposed to it, including Chihuahuas. Many dog owners have rushed to the vet's office in a panic over this health condition, though such a brash move isn't necessarily required"("Chihuahua..."). So from this research I have concluded that this condition is nothing close to or as bad as asthma. Whenever my dog starts reverse sneezing all I have to do is give her space to breath and try to calm her down and tell her that everything is going to be okay. 

Momo

    It has been a very interesting experience having to observe my dog very precisely for a couple of months. From these observations that I have done, I have come to a conclusion that in life, we should enjoy the little things as much as we possibly can before they are gone. By little things, I mean my old little vicious chihuahua. I never really payed much attention to my dog ever but this task of observing her has made me open my eyes and appreciate her and her little grouchy self a little bit more. The emotional and physical changes that my dog has been going through in these last couple of days has made me realized that she's getting much older and her time to go is almost here. 

Works Cited:
"Chihuahua Wheezing Problems." Chihuahua Wheezing Problems. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2014.

"How to Recognize an Episode of Reverse Sneezing." Mercola.com. Dr. Karen Becker, 03 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.